Open bottom ventilated paper tray



Patented Dec. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH J. HESS, OFINDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL PRINTING COMPANY, ACORPORATION OF INDIANA OPEN BOTTOM VENTILATED PAPER TRAY Applicationfiled September 26, 1929.

This invention is an open bottom paper tray for receiving or packagingbread and other bakery products. The usual trays made of paper and thelike, now and heretofore used, have closed bottoms so that the bot- Lsides of the prior trays are open and the bottom is closed. By seasoninghere is meant what happens to bakery products between the time of bakingand the time of use. Also, a closed or solid bottom is in direct contactwith the goods contained by the tray and often imparts an odor to thegoods.

The object of this invention is to overcome the foregoing difficultiesand provide a tray which will permit uniform seasoning of the productand prevent imparting odors to the contents. This is largelyaccomplished by providing a large ventilating opening or ampleventilation in the bottom of the tray and I which, when the goods andtray are wrapped,

furnishes an air space between the wrapping and the bottom of thecontents, as well as at the sides, ends and top thereof.

Another feature of the invention is the economy of production of thistray, as it is made of one piece of paper material and has but one sealat one corner and its arrangement and construction lends itself toquantity production as well as an appreciable saving in stock. Thus,25,000 of them can be made in the time required to make 1,500 traysnearest to this type of tray. Also, said paper tray can be collapsedinstantly and flattened to a very thin, small strip for convenient andeco nomical packing and shipping.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawing and the following description and claims:

In the drawing Fig. l is a perspective view of my new tray half full ofsliced bread or the like. Fig. 2 is a perspective top view of the traywith nothing in it. Fig. 3 is a perspective bottom view of the tray.Fig. 4 isa view of a double blank for a pair of trays. Fig. 5 is a planview of a tray in collapsed form for Serial No. 395,272.

in loaf form or in sliced form, or other bakery i products. The tray issuch thatthe bread or contents is held in position but with the majorportion of the surface thereof exposed to the atmosphere. This isdesirable because of the seasoning of the bread after it is baked andbefore it is used. Opportunity must be provided to permit as muchevaporation of moisture as possible and yet prevent uneven seasoningthereof or the imparting of disagreeable odors thereto.

The tray is made of paper stock having some stiffness and has sides 11and ends 12 which are not very high, as for loaf or sliced bread itsheight is not much more than 011ethird of the height of the contents.It, is rectangular in form and is usually about the size adapted toreceive a loaf of bread. There is a ventilating opening 13 in the bottomextending substantially for the length of the tray. To form this, thereare narrow bottom members 14 adjacent the sides 11 as shown, and whichare spaced appreciably from each other, and bottom end flaps 15 at theends thereof, but they do extend only far enough to reenforce the endsof the bottom strips 14. Hence between bottom side and end flaps 14 and15 a rather long and wide ventilating opening is provided.

This tray is preferably made from paper stock, as illustrated in Figs.4, 5 and 6. As seen in Fig. 4 a doubleblank is first out, which has alongitudinal separating line 20, and the two halves of the blank aresimilar and, when separated, form blanks for two individual trays.Vertical score lines 21 separate the sides 11 and ends 12 from eachother and the longitudinal score line 22 separates'the bottom and endmembers 14 and 15 from the sides 11 and ends 12, and a uniting tab 23 isformed on the exposed end of one of the side members 11.

After the double blank shown in Fig. 4 has been formed, the two halvesare separated on the line and each half constitutes a complete blank fora tray. Each tray blank is then formed into a tray, as shown-in Fig. 2,and the uniting tab 23 is glued or otherwise secured to the adjacent endmember 12, and that completes the tray, the bottom side flaps 14 beingturned inward and the bottom end flaps 15 being also turned inward underthe bottom flaps 14.

For shipment all that is necessary to do to the tray is to turn thebottom flaps 14 and 15 upwardagainstthe sides and ends 11 and 12 andthen collapse the tray into the form Figs. 5 and 6 and in a second formsthe tray as shown in Fig. 2 by merely changing the angle atthe cornersto rightangles and turn down the bottom flaps to horizontal position andthe tray is-ready to receive the bread or other bakery. product. Theends of the bottom flaps 14 are at their corners slightly rounded merelyfor the purpose of preventing the corners from becoming malformed in themanipulation of the tray, but each end of the bottom flaps l l hasconsiderable width that abuts against the ends 12, so as to maintain therectangular form of the tray, when the bottom flaps 14 and 15 are in thehorizontalposition as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Preferably the end bottom members 15 lie under the bottommembers 14 ofthe tray. This renders the tray strong and capable of maintainingitsrectangular form.

Thispaper tray is very cheaply and easily formed, shipped andmanipulated for receiving and holding bread, either in the solid loaf orsliced loaf form, or other bakery products. The open bottom will providepermanent ventilation which will help to produce uniform seasoning ofthe bread and avoid the undesirable results of packaging bread and otherbakery products in paper trays with closed bottoms. This tray willpermit air to get to the bottom of the loaf or other product and willgreatly reduce any flavor imparted to the loaf. Bread has a tendency tomold, as the moisture and material in it gives a fertile field for moldto grow,

and sliced bread molds more rapidly than unsliced bread, and thistendency is increased by placing the bread in a bakers tray with closedbottom. The ventilated paper tray herein shown will permit morecirculation of air and tend to cut down the heating efiectproduced'bythe contact of the loaf with the tray.

This

The invention claimed is: I

1. A rectangular elongated paper tray for sliced bread and other bakeryproducts, having no top and with relatively low side and end wallsflexibly connected at the corners, and with longitudinal side bottomflaps flexibly connected with the sidewalls and inturned toward eachother and appreciably spaced apart, and with end bottom flapsindependent'of the side bottom flaps and flexibly connected with the endwalls and inturned and secured to the side bottom flaps, said flapsbeing of a width materially less than one half the length of the walladjacent the flap supporting wall, whereby there an appreciable,elongated ventilating space;- in the bottom of the tra-yfor the greaterportion of its length.

2. A blank for a paper tray for sliced bread and other bakery products,consisting of a single strip of paper material with con secutive andalternate end and side sections with scored. division lines for thecorners, and a series of relatively narrow bottom side flaps and bottomend flaps and spaced apart an appreciable distance, each bottomside flapbeing in scored connection with a side section, and each bottom end flapbeing. in scored connection with an end section, and the length of thebottom end fiaps'being more than twice the width of a bottom side flapand adapted to be inturned and secured to the bottom side flaps, wherebythere will be. formed an appreciable, elongated ventilating spacein thebottom of the tray for the greater portion of its length when the trayis formed, the WlflllllO'li' the side and end sections and the side andend bottom flaps being of substantially uniform width, whereby the blankcan be folded into a strip form for handling and shipping that has alength one.- half and a width one-fourth of said blank before it isfolded.

3. A blank for a'pair of traysfor sliced bread and other bakeryproducts, consisting of a single strip of paper material with a centrallongitudinal score line for separating the double blank into singleblanks-when desired, a series of consecutive and alternate end and sidesections with scored division lines for the corners, said series beingadjacent to each other on opposite sides. of the score line, and aseries of relatively narrow bottom side flaps and bottom end fla sforeach series and spaced apart and at eac 1 side edge of the blank remotefrom the score line, each bottom side flap being in scored connectionwith one of'said side sections and each bottom end flapin scoredconnection withone of said end sections, and the length of the bottomend flaps in each series being more than twice the width of each'bottomside flap; and adapted to be inturned and secured to the longitudinalbottom flaps, whereby there will be formed an appreciable,elongated-ventilating space in the bottom of each tray for the greaterportion of its length when the tray is formed, all of said side and endsections and the bottom flaps being substantially uniform in width,whereby the blank can be folded into a strip form for handling andshipping that has a length one-half and a width one-fourth of saiddouble blank before it is folded.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

JOSEPH J. HESS.

